Rise Of The Player Manager: How Professionals Manage While They Work

by Philip Augar, Joy Palmer

In a new book, Philip Augar and Joy Palmer detail how ‘player managers’ – people who manage teams as well as managing clients – can come unstuck. Augar, a former group managing director at Schroders, says, "If you are put into a player managing position, it is a normal reaction to accept it as a promotion. But not everyone is cut out for this kind of thing." High achievement, high performance and high levels of personal charisma come first. ‘Players’ Players' are common in financial services, says Augar; in American banks they are known as producer managers. "It has always been part of the City culture that the best producers are given managerial roles. The first instinct is often to do the job oneself and to manage in the spare time." However, this doesn’t always work. The preoccupation with revenue generation means favoritism towards other high flyers, but neglect of struggling team members. Weak players are sidelined and disillusioned. The team is fractured by political infighting and there is no long-term strategy. The smart manager comes to realize they can be more effective if their energies are instead used to improve the performance of other team members and to communicate strategy. ‘Players’ Players’ are not the only kind of player manager examined by Augar and Palmer. They encountered ‘Player Coaches,’ who formed close ties with individual team members; ‘Play Makers,’ who facilitated change; ‘Rookies,’ or first time player managers; and ‘Veterans,’ expert managers who could also play when necessary. But the most interesting types of player managers were the people who had given up their managerial responsibilities and gone back to playing. They risked lower pay and loss of face. But Augar and Palmer found that they sent out a valuable message to everyone up is not the only way.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2002